Berlin - A new system to ensure more safety on German motorways in the future, is now ready for use. C-ITS stands for “Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems” in which vehicles, road users, service providers and road operators are all networked and exchange anonymized data with one another.
Road users are informed early about the current traffic situation and possible dangerous situations while traffic control centers receive comprehensive and precise information on the traffic situation directly from the vehicles. This results in quick and efficient control of the traffic flow on the motorways and ensures better utilization of the motorway network with fewer traffic jams and lower CO2 emissions.
The basic requirements for C-ITS communication have been developed on the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. The Autobahn GmbH - the state-run motorway agency - has now put the construction site warning as the first component of C-ITS into operation. Initially, the service will start on selected motorway corridors and then be rolled out over the remaining motorway sections across Germany by 2023.
Road users of the vehicle series VW Golf 8, ID.3 and ID.4, the first ones supporting C-ITS, can experience the construction site warning via direct communication. Other service providers can also access the information via the Mobility Data Marketplace (MDM) and bring it into vehicles via mobile communications. Prof. Gerd Riegelhuth, Head of Traffic Management, Operations and Traffic at the Autobahn GmbH says "With this first C-ITS application, we are increasing the security of the road users and our construction site staff.”